All in on Rich Rod: Vesterinen talks intensity, change, and the new WVU defense
Edward Vesterinen has been part of the West Virginia program for four and a half years, but even he admits this feels different.
A new coaching staff has brought a different energy to the building, especially on defense, and the senior defensive lineman is already seeing the results.
“I didn’t know you could crank up intensity at practice like that,” Vesterinen said during an appearance on the 3 Guys Before the Game podcast. “Everything matters. It’s very vocal.”
That shift starts with head coach Rich Rodriguez and defensive coordinator Zac Alley. Both bring a more aggressive style, and Vesterinen has felt it firsthand through the spring and summer.
“They make practice hard, and so games will feel easier,” he said. “You get put in tough situations every day.”
The playbook has changed as well.
“We get after it so much,” Vesterinen said. “Coach Alley can present so much to the offense, and he’s a mastermind. Definitely maybe doubled, maybe tripled the amount of plays we had from last year.”
It’s also required more attention to detail, but Vesterinen said he’s at the point in his career where he’s no longer thinking as much, just playing.
“I think now I am,” he said. “That used to be something I thought about, previous years, maybe I’m thinking too much instead of just like…people like to make football a little harder than what it is. At the end of the day, it’s just a kid’s game. You got to go fight the guy in front of you and get him out of the way and find the ball.”
With more intensity, more freedom, and more to prove, Vesterinen is ready to get back to doing just that.
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